Greek swimmer wins compensation

ATHENS – The Greek Swimming Federation has been ordered to pay €277,000 ($360,986) to 100-meter freestyle swimmer Tonia Machaira for wrongfully excluding her from the 2004 Athens Olympics on the grounds she had failed a drug test.

Machaira filed a suit for €1 million eight years ago after she was banned from participating in her home Olympics by the federation.

An Athens court decided on Friday to award the swimmer just over one-fourth of the amount she requested, deciding on €150,000 ($195,480) plus interest reaching €277,000.

“The bitterness remains the same,” Machaira told NovaSport FM radio.

“I wanted to participate in my third and final Olympics after a 20-year career but was denied this. I was always clean.”

International drug testing organization WADA confirmed that Machaira had not failed the anti-doping test, as suspected by the Greek federation.